Method for manufacturing briquettes from lignite



, Nov. 16 1926.

C. L. M CREA METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING BRIQUETTES FROM 'L IGNITE L/GN/TE CHUTE Filed Oct. 22, 1924 FILTER EXTPACTOI? E Bi P/TCH HEATER COOLER I Y CQ/VVEYOR BR/OUETTE MACH/NE L/GHTO/L MED/UM 0/4 WA T5? SEP/IRATOR 6A5 TAN/1" //v vE/v TOR. CHAFFL 5 L. Mc CHE/4.

ATTORNEY a The aocompanyin drawing is a diagram Patented Nov. "16, 1926.

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Application filed October 22, 1924.. Serial No. 745,181.

This invention relates to a method and: apparatus for manufacturing. briquettes from lignite- I I It .has been proposed heretofore to manu- 6 fact'ure briquettes from lignite by crushing v the lignite, extractin the moisture there-" from, mixing the drie lignite with a binder and then pressin the same into briquettes,

but much diflicu ty has been experienced. I in Securing a briquette of commercial quality and so far as I am informed no prac-' tical commercial lignite briquette has been produced up to this time. *3riquettes of" this character must have certain definite l5 characteristics in order to be practical and of commercial value and the processes heretofore used have' not, so far as I am informed, been such as to produce a briquette having these characteristics. The briquette must beof such hardness and strength that it will not be subject'to undue breakage in I the ordinary handling and shipping'of the product and; further, the binder which is employed for uniting the, particles of 5 crushed lignite into a briquette must have -substantially .the "same combustion characteristics as the lignite itself so that the whole briquette will be consumed with substantial uniformity. If the binder is con- 80 sumed more rapidly than the lignite thebriquette will quickly disintegrate on the furnace grate. leaving there a mass of crushed fuel which will not readily. burn. One object of the invention is to provide method' whereby a briquette having these essential characteristics may be produced; and by means of which such a briquette i may be produced in large quantities at .a' T relatively low cost and by the use of a '4 comparatively simple apparatus.

Other objectsof the invention are to provide a method of. producing briquettes in which'. the by-productsmay' be saved and further'ob I side" a suita out the methdd, a

- Other objects of the invention will appear as it is. described indetail.

'ect of the invention is to as le apparatus for carryingi matic illustration-o one form of ap ratus by'means of which the method may performed. j

In carrying out ,my method the lignite is --the lignite,fto provide the binder, various Iformedand the material will "obstruct the moisture which is retained in,,the mixture first-crushed and then mixed with pitch, WhlCh has been extracted from lig'nite other than that from which the briquettes are to- .be formed, andthis mixture of pitch and crushed lignite is dried to extract therefrom the desired percentage of the moisture, and

{the dried mixture of binder and ligniteis then cooled and delivered to the briquette forming machine where it is, pressed into briquettes. In extracting the pitch from volatile; elements of the lignite will be liberated in the form of gases, or vapors, and these gases, which are very hot, may be utilized for heating the drier. Regardless of whether "or not these gases are, utilized. for heating the drier they are subsequently subjected to the action of a condenser and the .oils and gases separated and-"preserved foruse. i i

In order to form briquettes having the necessary hardness and strength it is important that a certain amount of the moisture be retained in the mixture of lignite and binder when the latter is delivered to 7:

the briquette machine. .If the mixture is g too dry the briquettes will not be properly machine. If too large a percentage of moisture is retained in the mixture the briquettes will dry after the have been formed; which will result in-.t e briquettes checking and craokin in such a manner as to cause them: to. rea ily break in ordinary handling and shipping. The percentage of will, of course, vary according to the m'oisturecontent of the lignite', which varies in different deposits, but with the ordinary lignite'I havejfoundthat most satisfactory results may be secured by extracting approximately ninety per cent of the moisture and retaining. the remaining ten per cent in the mixture when this is delivered to the; briquette machine. However, the mois-. ture 'retained in the mixture may be decreased or increased and satisfactory results stillsecured. Very good. briquettes ma be produced from a 'mixture'containing fi teen or twenty percent of moisture In the present drawing I have shown m diagram an apparatus by means of. which;

the method ma be carriedout-but it be understQod t atthis particular apparatus I l v x is here shown for the purposeof illustration only and that the character and arrangement thereof may vary greatly from the illustration.

The lignite from which the briquettes are to be formed is first crushed into relatively fine granular form.- This may be accomplished by any suitable crushing machine' and I have not in the present drawings illuspresent instance, this conveyor is shown in.

trated such a crusher. The crushed lignite is delivered from the crusher, by means of a suitable conveyor, to the drier and, in the the form of a' chute 1 of a wide fiat character so that the crushed lignite will move through the same in a\Wide thin layer. This conveyordischarges' the lignite into a drier 2 which may be of any suitable character and is here'shown as an elongated cylinder surrounded'by a jacket 3 adapted to receive a heating fluid. -The drier is provided with suitable means for moving the lignite through the same and agitating the same as it moves from one end of the drier to the other and in practice the drier will beset at w an inclination so that the movement of the lignite through the same will be assisted bygravity. The resent drier has mounted therein a longitu inally extending shaft 4 to which aresec'ured a series of propelling j and ,agitating blades 5 which act upon the pulverized material to move the. same length- .wise of the cylinder and to agitate the same.

This shaft may be provided with any suitable dri'vin means by which it may be ro-- tated ahd t is driving means is preferably of such a characterthat the speed of rotation of the shaft may be controlled. so as to regulate the, speed at which the material is moved through the drier,'thus enabling. the desired drying action to be secured. In

the present "instance, the driving means is shown asja' stepped pulley 6, which may be belted in 'ia well. known manner to any suitable source of power.

, As the crushed ligmte is conveyed to the drier it is mixed with. a suitable binder 'which, iii the present form of the apparatus, is sprayed; onto the thin bed or layer" of 'gnite as it travels. toward the drier. In order that this binder may have the same combiistion characteristics asthe lignite itself I have utilized as the binder, pitch extracted from lignite other than thatwhich same character and qualities.

is to be formed into briquettes but of the To this end a body of crushed lignite is treated in a carbonizer 7 of any suitable character which 66 will cause the lignite to throw off the pitch and other volati e ingredients. The lignite is delivered to the carbonizer in a crushed form and ma be secured from the same crushers whic provide the lignite for the briquettes and this delivery may be by conveyor or in any othe'iv suitable manner. In

the present'illustration I have not shown the conveyor for delivering the lignite to the carbonizer but have provided the carboniz'er with "a charging opening 8 at the upper end thereof through which the lignite. is delivered thereto.- The quantity of l1g-' to approximately one-half the quantity delivered to the drier. The ases and vapors which are liberated from t e lignite in the "carbonizer escape therefrom through a 'con-' duit 9, the pitch bein carried in suspension with the gases and 0t er vapors. This conduit leads first to-a filter bymeans of which the pitch is, to a large extent, separated from the gases and vapors. As here shown,

this filter is in the formof an elongatedcylindrical structure 10 having an inlet 11 connected with the conduit 9 and having an outlet 12connected with a conduit 13 which, in effect, forms an extension of the conduit 9. Interposed between the inlet lland outlet 12 of the filter isa body of filtering material 14, such as mats of woven glass- The filtering material 14' will separate from the gases and vapors the pitch which is'in suspension therein and this pitch will pass out of the"filter through the discharge opening 12, along with the vapors and gases. The conduit 13 leads to a pitch extractor 16 and that portion of the pitch which has been separated from the gases and-the vapors by the filter will flow into this extractor while the gases and vapors themselves willwbe discharged against a bafiie plate 17 Whichwill separate therefrom any pitch which, may remain in suspension therein. The pitch which is thus livered to t-he extractor :is discharged therefrom through an outlet 18 to a heater 19 where the temperatureof the pitch is increased to such an extent that it is highly liquid in form. The heater may take various formsbut is here shown as receptacle having therein a steam coil 20 connected by an inlet pipe 21 with any'suitable source of steam supply and having. an outlet or exhaust pipe 22. A discharge pipe 23 leads from the lower (portion of the pitch heater 19 to apoint a j'acentfto the conveyor' 1 where it is provided with a dis- I charge nozzle 24 of such a character, as to spray the-hot liquid, pitch over. the nmss' ei crushed lignite as the latter travels toward the drier. As here shown the nozzle mounted in a suitable'opening in the u per wall of the conveyor and is of such a c aracter as to spray the a desired spraying action.

The heat for the drier 2 may be secured from any suitable source but, in the present instance, I have utilized the hot gases from the carbonizer for this purpose. To this end a conduit 26 connects the pitch extractor 16 with one end of the jacket 3 of the drier and the gases passing through this jacket are discharged near the end thereof through a conduit 27 which is connected with a conduit 28 leading to a separator 29. A. suitable pump or blower 15 is interposed in the gas-line to cause the gases and vapors to flow through the same and this pump is-preferably located beyond the pitch extractor so that the pitch will not interfere with its operation. The action of the heat on the lignite and pitch in the drier releases certain gases and vapors therefrom and these gases are discharged from" the drier through i a conduit 30, which is also connected with the conduit 28 leading'to the separator 29.

interposed in the conduit 28 is a condenser which, in the present instance, is shown as a cooling coil 31 mounted in the conduit 28 and connected with a suitable supply for cold water. As the gases and vapors pass through this condenser the vapors are condensed and delivered to the separator in liquid form. This liquid consists in the most part of water-and oil and the water will settle to the bottom of. the separator and the oils of different weights will rise above the same. The separator is provided with suitable discharge pipes 32, through which the liquids may be withdrawn and, in the present instance, I have providedthrce such pipes, one near the bottom for drawing off the water, one at a somewhat higher level ,for drawing ofi the medium oils, and one near'the top for drawing off the light oils-. Thesedischarge pipes lead to storage receptacles 33. The gases which are not condensed escape from the separator through a conduit 34 which leads. to a gas storage I tank 38; This gas being of a combustible character maybe employed for the purpose of securing the heat and power necessary for the operation of the apparatus.

The pulverized lignite, which has been coated with fair uniformity with thepitch, is passed throu h the drier .2 at. such a,

. speed that the heat to which the drier is subjected will drive off the desired quantity of moisture and this mixture of lignite and pitch, containing a relatively small percentage of its original moisture, is delivered to a riquette machine 35. Preferably the mixture is'cooled beforedelivering it to the briquette machine and, as here shown, a rotary cooling tray 36' receives the mixture from the drier and delivers it to a conveyor 7 which in turn delivers it to the briquette machine.- I

While I have described in detail my method of producing lignite briquettes and have illustrated and described one form of apparatus for carrying out this method, I do not wish to be limited to the details, either of the method or of the apparatus, as various modifications of both will readily occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The method of producing lignite briquettes, consisting in crushing the lignite, mixing the same with pitch extracted from lignite other than that from which the briquettes are to be formed, treating the mixture to extract therefrom all but a relatively small part of the moisture and then forming the mixture into briquettes.

2.-The method of producing lignite briquettes, consisting in crushing the lignite, mixing the same with pitch extractedfrom lignite other than that from which the briquettes are to be formed, treating the mixture to extract therefrom all but a relatively small part of the moisture, cooling the mixture and then forming the same into briquettes.

3. The method of manufacturing lignite briquettes, consisting in crushing the lignite, mixing the same with pitchextracted from lignite other than that from which the briquettes are to, be formed, treating the mixture to extract therefrom approximately ninety per cent of its moisture, retaining the residue of the moisture in said mixture, and delivering the mixture to a ,briquette forming device.

4. The method of manufacturing lignite briquettes, consisting in crushing the lignite, mixing the same with a-binder-, delivering the crushed lignite and binder "to a drier, so regulating the action of the drier as to drive off all but a relatively small part of the moisture contained in said lignite' and said pitch, and forming the mixture do. livered from'the drier into briquettes.

5. The method of producing hgnite briquettes, consisting in crushing the lignite, mixing therewith a quantity of itch extracted from lignite other than t at from which ,the briquettes are to be formed and equaling in quantlty approximately fifty per cent of the quantlty ofpitch contained in the lignite from which the briquettes are to be formed, drying the mixture to extract into briquettes.

' 6. The method of producing lignite briquettes, consisting in crushing the lignite, spreading the crushed. lignite in a relati l thi layer, spraying over said layer of crushed lignite a quantity of hot pitch extracted from lignite other: than that from which'the briquettes are'to be formed, ex-

- tracting all but a relatively small amount intobriquettes.

of the moisture'from the mixture of lignite and pitch and then forming said mixture 7; The' method of producing lignite bliquettes, consisting in crushin the lignite from which the briquettes are to be formed,

treating other'lignite to extract, the pitch therefrom, heating said pitch, mixing the heated 1 pitch with the crushed 'lignitefrom which the" briquettes are to be formed, extracting all. but a relatively small percentage of the'moisture from said mixture of lignite'and pitch and then forming said mixture into briquettes.

.S QThe method of producing lignite briquettes, consisting in crushing the lignite from which the briquettes are to be formed, "delivering the crushed lignite from the crusher in a relatively thin layer, treating lignite other than that from which thebriquettes are to. be formed to extract pitch therefrom, heating said pitch, spraying the heated pitchovei' said thin layer of crushed lignite, extracting from said crushed lignite and pitch all but a relatively small amount of moisture contained therein and then forming said mixture into briquettes. .9. -The method of producing lignite brifrom which the briquettes-are to be formed, treating a quantity of lignite equal to approximately one-half of the quantity from which the briquettes are to be formed to extract the pitch therefrom, spraying said pitch in a heated condition over the crushed lignite from which the briquettes are to .be formed, extracting all but a small amount of the moisture from said crushed. ligniteand pitch andthen forming the mixture of lig- Y nite and pitch into briquettes.

the briqiiett'es are to be formed to ,extract 10. The method; of producinglignite briquet'tes, consisting in crushing the lignite from" which the briquettes are to be formed, treating lignite other than that from which quettes, "consisting in crushing the lignite.

. porsto separate the oils an quettes, consisting in crushing the lignite from which the briquettes are to be formed, treating lignite other than that from which the briquettes are to be formed to extract therefrom the pitch andvolatile subst'ances, I

separating the pitch from the vapors and gases driven off from said last, mentioned lignite, mixing the pitch 'withfthelignite from which the briquettesare to be formed,

utilizing the heated gases andvapors from the last mentioned lignite to drive off all but a small amount of the moisture from'thelignite and pitch from which" the briquettes .are to'be formed, then forming said lignite and pitch into briquettes, and treating said gases and vapors to separate the oils and gases therefrom.

12. The method of producin lignite briquettes, consisting in crushing the lignite from which the briquettes are to be formed, treating other lignite to extract therefrom the pitch and volatile substances in the form of gases and vapors, separating the pitch J from said gases and vapors, delivering the itch in a heated .condition to the lignite rom which the briquettes are to be formed, extracting all but a relatively small amount of the moisture from'said mixture of lignite and pitch; forming said mixture into briquettes, and treating said ases and vacombustible gases.

13. Themethpd of producing lignite briquettes consisting, in crushin the-lignite, spreadig the crushed lignite in a relatively thin layer; spraying a hea'tedbi'nder over said crushed l gnite, extracting all buta relati;ve1y small amount of the moisture then iormingsaid mixtureinto briquettes. A h testlmony whereof, I afiix my signature ereto. i v

from..tlie mixture of lignite and binder. and

CHARLES'L. MQCREAL 

